The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-07-16
VIII IL Paw?

There is one feature of the great railroad
fight now going on in New Hampshire that
seems to have been largely overlooked. The
effect of the success of the Boston IL Maine
on the Concord railroad, on the Ogdensburg,
on the politics of New Hampshire and on
everything else, except its effect upon the
Boston & Maine itself, has been thoroughly
discussed. To this last point very little at
tention seems to have been paid. Itappears to
have been assumed that this branching out
of the Boston & Maine in all directions, this
swallowing up of railroads h, re, there and
everywhere would enure he benefit of
the corporation whose stomach was being
filed. The small stockhol1 q, of the road
have felt, doubtless, that the terests of the
big stockholders who were engineering these
consolidation schemes were u entical with
theirs, and that if the effect of these schemes
was not likely to be favorable the big stock
holders would not be engaged in them. That
perhaps is natural supposition, but it
by no means follows that it is cor
rect one. The interests Of the men who
are pushing these schemes may be iden-
tical with theirs so far as this road is con-
cerned, but they may have other interests
which it may pay them to promote, even at
the risk Of their Boston & Maine interests.
1t will not be safe to conclude that because
A, B and G, who are large stockholders In
the Boston & Maine. are in favor of leasing
a lot Of New Hampshire lines that it will
be for the advantage Of that corporation to
do so.
The only way to arrive at safe conclusion
as to the effect on the Boston & Maine of add
ing these other lines is to ascertain what kind
Of lines they are-whether they can produce
the rental the Boston q Maine agrees to pay
for them. If they cannot then the Boston g.
Maine must make up what is lacking out of
its other lines, and that means a reduction of
dividends to its stockholders. The Boston
q Lowell system had not paid anything to
its stockholders for years before the Boston
81 Maine leased it, But the Boston & Maine
has taken 1t and agreed to pay seven per
cent. per annum on its capital stock. The
Northern Railroad which the Boston & Maine
will have on its hands in case the Ha-
zen bill passes is also poor road and has
never earned anything for its stockholders.
The Boston, Concord g. Montreal, another
road the Boston & Maine is fighting to pos
sess has always been run at loss Yet on
the stock Of these two roads as well as on
the.Boston & Lowell system the Boston &
Maine will have to pay dividend. How is
it to be had? There are only two ways.
These roads must be made to earn it or it
must come out Of the Boston & Names old
lines. Can they be made to earn it2 1t is
difficult to see how they can. The Boston
& Maine cannot add to their business. 1t can
reduce the expenses cooperating them some
what, but not largely. And if it cannot
make them pay for themselves the alterna-
tive is equivalent to taking the money out of
its stockholders pockets to pay for them.
At the present time the Boston & Maine is
magnificent property. Its stock is more
( than hundred per cent. above par, and it
pays large dividends The proposition now
is TO hitch on to it a lot of railroad lines that